“Yeah. I think he’ll handle it okay. I mean, you guys are grossly obsessed with each other. He’ll get over it. Tell him what you told me. Truth is the best.” She gobbled up the rest of her eggs and eyed me. “What?”
“You are quite pretty when you eat.” I patted her shoulder and laughed. “Thanks for the advice. Maybe I’ll mess with him in class. Text him creepy things.”
“Knowing him, he’d probably like that. Text sexy things, though. Get him amped.”
“Good call.”
“Let me know how it goes, lover girl.”
An hour later, I sat in my usual spot, in the back without anyone around me. I scanned the room, unable to find Zade.This is odd.I generally knew where he sat by the crowd of people around him. Other people gravitated toward him. I couldn’t blame them. He was pretty damn awesome.
Callie: Hey, girl, hey. What’s going on?
It said he read it, but didn’t reply. Damn, maybe he was doing something. That made sense. A couple minutes went by and I saw him come into class. He looked mad. I tried another one.
Callie: I like your jacket. It’s sexy.
Another read but no reply. Maybe he’d seen me and gotten pissed.Shit.I wouldn’t mess with him today. I’d tell him after class, in person. He’d never ignored my texts before… My stomach dropped. Something must be wrong. I tried my best to focus on the bullshit lecture but it did nothing for me. I took notes and about fifteen minutes in, Zade ran out of the lecture. A girl I recognized from one of their parties followed him. She stopped at the top of the stairs, looked me up and down, winked and kept going.What. The. Fuck.
I didn’t like it, but I wasn’t going to let a petty bitch fluster me. I needed to be better than her, even though I thought about kicking her face in for a good ten minutes. I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on class anymore so I texted Greta instead.
Callie: Mission aborted. He saw my texts and ignored them.
Greta: Maybe he saw you?
Callie: Thought that too, but he ran out mid lecture without seeing me. Also, some skanky girl I’ve seen at their house followed him out and winked at me.
Greta: Uh, ew. Did you flip her off?
Callie: Nah, didn’t think fast enough. She ran out of there before I did anything. Am I panicking over nothing?
Greta: Everything seems a little shady, but I’m guessing there’s an explanation. There has to be.
Callie: Should I go over there? Ask?
Greta: If you feel like you need to. Again, shady, but not another alarming.
Callie: Okay. I hate this uncertainty. God, when I’m ready to tell him I love him…I get all the paranoid thoughts and shit.
Greta: Call him and see what’s up. He’ll have an answer that’ll make you feel better.
I left the lecture hall, unable to focus at all at that point. I had a sinking feeling of dread. My sixth sense knew something happened. Like, something major. I couldn’t pinpoint what or why, but I knew. I tried calling Zade, but he sent it to voicemail.This. Is. Not. Good.
My heart raced and my hands shook. I sent him a text asking to talk.
Zade: I can’t talk now. In class.
My heart sank. He’d left class. He’d lied. Lied to me. The nerves and worry I had shifted into a sick sense of betrayal. Old Callie would’ve cowered and gone back to her apartment to cry with Greta. New Callie—she had more confidence and wanted answers. Fine. He wanted to lie. There’d better be a damn good reason.
I marched over to their house, determined to figure out what the hell had happened. I knew he was inside—my body somehow tuned into his. I knocked on the door. The bitch answered with a knowing smirk.
“Callie, right?” She opened the door a couple inches and slid her head out. She smirked with a sneer on her lips. “You really stood no chance. He never belonged to you.”
She pushed it open farther, walked past me and down the stairs. I watched her head down the road, my stomach clenching.What the hell does she mean?I went into the house and up to Zade’s room. I knocked on the door, questions bursting through me.
He opened up with hard eyes, ones I had never seen directed at me. They softened a little bit, but confusion took over. “Callie?”
“Yes, Zade.” I strode into his room, fuming with anger. “Expecting someone else?”
